The Planets
Planet Data For March
Click on any planet below to go straight to its section.
The table below shows key data for the planets this month, including rise, transit and set times, as well as magnitude, apparent size and position data (right ascension and declination).
Events that occur when the sun is below the horizon are shown with a black background and white text. All other events happen when the sun is in the sky and other for not visible for observation.
We’re challenged for good views of the planets this month due to conjunctions and a shallow ecliptic. The best planet for viewing – by some way – is Jupiter. Uranus is also easily spied. Venus is challenging but improving by the end of the month, whereas Saturn is challenging at the start of Mars before quickly becoming impossible to see. Mercury, Mars, and Neptune are not observable at all in March.
All of the images below can be opened full screen in a new tab by clicking on them
Mercury
05th March
Mercury is too close to the sun to be viewed today; it passes in front of the sun in two days. This is the scene at sunset.
15th March
Now a morning planet and moving away from the sun, Mercury is still too close to it to be observed.
25th March
At 06:45, we can see just how shallow the ecliptic is and so there is still no viewing to be had of the smallest planet.
Mercury passes in front of the sun one week into March. After that, it becomes a morning planet but the ecliptic is so shallow that we won’t be able to observe it at all.
Venus
05th March
Just after sunset, we can see Venus is only 6° above the horizon, making it hard to spy.
15th March
Steadily, the planet is pulling away from our star. Here’s the view at 8pm when Venus will be 8° above the western horizon.
25th March
Ten days later and we can see the gap has widened again, although Venus is still low to the horizon.
Venus pulls away from the sun again this month, but it is a slow process. If you’ve got an unobstructed view of the western horizon, you might be able to observe Venus towards the end of the month as the sky darkens after sunset.
The Venusian disc is almost fully illuminated, having recently passed behind the sun, and it’s small at 10 arcseconds, but it’s exceedingly bright and magnitude -3.9
Mars
05th March
Just minutes before sunrise, Mars breaks the eastern horizon. Too close to our star to be seen.
15th March
The same is still the case ten days later.
25th March
The morning ecliptic – as we saw with Mercury – is very shallow, so we’re not going to get Mars in our telescopes this month.
It’s less than a year until the next close approach of Mars to Earth, but there’s little to see of it right now.
The shallow morning ecliptic in March severely limits our chances of seeing Mars. Things begin to improve next month.
Jupiter
05th March
At 8pm, Jupiter is up near the zenith in the constellation of Gemini.
15th March
After the clocks change, this is the view at 9pm, where Jupiter is the brightest object in the sky after the moon.
25th March
It’s the moon itself interfering with viewing this evening.
Jupiter is high near the zenith in the early evening sky this month. Shining at magnitude -2.6 and with a disc over 40 arcsecnds wide, it’s a real treat for the month.
Saturn
05th March
Your only chance to see Saturn this month is during this first week and against the backdrop of a dusky sky.
15th March
The ringed planet is ten days away from passing behind the sun and is too close to it now to be observed.
25th March
Today is Saturn’s superior conjunction; it’ll be a morning planet from tomorrow but not easily observed again until May.
Saturn passes behind the sun for its superior conjunction on the 25th March so is not visible for observing beyond the first few days of this month. Even then, it’ll be against a dusky background, low on the western horizon.
Uranus & Neptune
15th March – Uranus
At 9 pm, see Uranus 40° over the western horizon near the Pleiades.
15th March – Neptune
Neptune passes behind the sun on 22 March and so is not visible this month.
It’s only Uranus that we can see in March, and it’s relatively easy to pick out near the Pleiades.
All Planets Viewer
Use the table below to see when each of the planets is observable for each day this month. Click on it for full screen.
A planet is classed as observable when it is more than 10° above the horizon and the sky is dark enough for it to be observed.
Planet ephemeris tables produced with the kind permission of Dominic Ford. Sky images are courtesy of SkySafari Pro 6.